Horsens: Lakshya Sen saved two match points to beat world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty added a gritty doubles win as India took a 2-0 lead over Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup Finals here on Friday.
Lakshya, who trailed for large parts of the contest, showed remarkable resilience to script an 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 victory in a marathon clash lasting one hour and 28 minutes.
World No. 4 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the Asian Games champions, then defeated Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin 23-21 19-21 21-12 in an hour and 15 minutes to put India in a commanding position.
India will look to seal the contest when Ayush Shetty, the Asian Championships finalist, takes on world No. 8 and reigning All England champion Lin Chun-Yi in the second singles.
In the remaining matches, the duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun will meet Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po-Hsuan, while Kidambi Srikanth will face world No. 21 Chi Yu Jen.
Lakshya vs Chou
With the head-to-head locked at 4-4 prior to this contest, the two engaged in another absorbing duel marked by long rallies, precise stroke-play and intense momentum swings.
Chou displayed his experience in the opening game, recovering from 10-15 down and overturning a late deficit to take the lead.
Lakshya, however, responded under pressure in the second game. Trailing 13-17, the Indian reeled off four straight points to draw level. Chou earned two match points, but Lakshya held his nerve, saving both before closing out the game to force a decider.
The 36-year-old Chou appeared to fade physically in the third game as Lakshya seized control with an 11-7 lead at the interval and maintained his composure to seal the contest.
Satwik-Chirag vs Liu-Wang
Satwik and Chirag struggled early, with multiple service fault calls disrupting their rhythm as they trailed 8-13 after being level at 5-5.
The Taiwanese kept their lifts flat and fast, forcing Chirag to vary angles and take pace off the rallies, but Chiu and Wang maintained control at 18-15.
Satwik and Chirag, however, refused to concede. They clawed back to 18-19 before a sharp body smash handed the Taiwanese two game points.
The Indians saved both under pressure and earned a game point of their own, eventually converting it after drawing an error to snatch the opening game.
The second game remained tight, with both pairs locked at 8-8 in the early exchanges. Service issues continued to haunt the Indians, including another height fault and a long flick serve, but they still managed to carry a slender one-point lead into the interval.
From 14-11 up, Satwik and Chirag looked set to consolidate, but the Taiwanese fought back to level terms. A flurry of attacking exchanges followed, with momentum swinging both ways before Chiu and Wang edged ahead late to force a decider.
The third game saw a complete shift in control. The Indians came out aggressive and precise, racing to a 9-3 lead and extending it to a six-point cushion at the break amid a charged atmosphere with drums, horns and relentless crowd support.
With Satwik dominating at the net and from the backcourt, the Indian pair stretched the lead to 13-6 and then 15-7. Satwik and Chirag soon earned a cluster of match points and sealed the contest comfortably, putting India firmly in control of the tie.
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